His Better Half
by Aleine Skyfire
Summary: Missing scenes between husband and wife, stuff that we might have gotten if the show weren't quite so focused on the Ninja and the father/son relationship. #1: Immediately post-"Rise of the Spinjitsu Master." The Garmadon family walk off together, but Misako is the one that Garmadon really needs to talk to. As much as he's damaged his son's life, he's damaged his wife's even more.


_Immediately post-"Rise of the Spinjitsu Master." The Garmadon family walk off together, but Misako is the one that Garmadon really needs to talk to. As much as he's damaged his son's life, he's damaged his wife's even more._

**1\. Unconditional**

Garmadon had never been at a greater loss for words in his life. He had always been so ready with the quips and the taunts before—even the apologies. But now as he stood before his wife, unpossessed and fully human, he did not know what to say. He knew what he had to say, of course, but the words wouldn't come. Misako had always been steadfast and forgiving, but everyone had their limits, and he would not blame her if she had reached hers.

Misako looked over her shoulder and smiled. "You know, he looks a lot like you."

Garmadon also looked over his shoulder to see their son rejoin his friends. Poor Lloyd, as tall as the rest of the ninja but so much younger, forced to grow up long before his time. "Yes, well—" Garmadon cleared his throat—"thank goodness he's missing the red eyes."

Misako turned her smile on him. It had been a shock, seeing her for the first time in a decade and looking much older than he'd remembered her as, but her smile was still as brilliant as the first time he'd seen it. "Well, you are, too, now." Her smile softened. "I'd almost forgotten how your real eyes looked."

So had he. Brown eyes. His eyes had swung between brown and red in his youth, depending on his mood, until his first transformation. He gave a self-deprecatory laugh. "I imagine I probably look older than Wu again."

Misako smirked and shook her head. "Not really. I think you look rather… dashing…" She lifted a hand towards his face, and he stared, not daring to move. It had been so long… her touch on his cheek felt… wonderful…

"I-I'm sure I don't look half as good as you," he stammered. "You look… you look as beautiful as the day I married you."

Her green eyes shone.

Oh, it was now or never. He refused to be a coward any more. "Misako, I know I have failed everyone… and you most of all. I wasn't—" his voice cracked—"I wasn't there to help you raise our son."

She lowered her hand and shook her head. "Neither was I, and that wasn't right either."

"But still. I abandoned you. You never stopped trying to make things work, and I just left you. I didn't even leave you free."

She blushed and looked down. "Well, it didn't make much difference, that. There was never really anyone else."

He heard the unspoken "but" in her tone, and he thought he blushed, too. No one else… except for a certain sensei… not that he could blame her! A week ago he might have been furiously jealous, but even then he would have known that he couldn't blame either of them. "Still, that was… unpardonable."

Misako looked up. "Very few things are truly unpardonable, Garmadon."

He smiled bitterly. "Oh, I'm very sure I've managed to cross that line."

She shook her head. "It wasn't you. It was never you—it was the venom in you. I've always known whether I was talking to you… or talking to the venom…" Her expression turned sheepish. "Well, almost always. I wasn't quite sure when…"

"When I laughed at Lloyd being afraid," he murmured, cheeks flaming. "I don't blame you."

Misako sighed. "Garmadon, I'm not going to lie. I have had regrets. But now… now you're back. And we have our son."

Garmadon looked away in shame. "Misako, you… you don't… don't have to stay with me if-if you don't want to. I understand if you don't."

A hand stole around his and clasped it gently. Her hand. "Is that what you want?"

Oh, dear heavens, why was she making this difficult? Of course he didn't want to let her go. He'd never stopped loving her, not even in his darkest moments. He'd never been able to keep himself busy enough that he wouldn't lie awake at night and ache to have his family back, knowing full well that he had no one to blame but himself.

"Y-yes," he pushed out.

"I don't believe you."

He turned back to her. "Misako, I have ruined your life! I don't deserve your forgiveness, let alone your staying with me."

She met his gaze and studied it searchingly. She always could do that, pierce right through all lies and bluffing and hurt right down to his soul. "If you deserved forgiveness, you wouldn't need it. Do you want it?"

He looked at the ground. "Of course, I do," he murmured. "Heaven help me."

"Then you have it."

Was he surprised? Not really. But she deserved so much better, and he so much worse. It wasn't fair. He looked up slowly, and what did surprise him was the moisture gathering in his eyes. "Please, don't…"

She looked so sad; it made his chest ache. He'd always hated seeing her sad, especially since it was most often his fault. "Would you rather I didn't? Would you rather I raged at you, left you? Because if you do, you married the wrong woman."

He laughed helplessly. "My darling wife… I never did deserve you."

She smiled sadly. "Of course you did. I refuse to punish you for something that was out of your control." She took his hands in hers. "I love you."

"I-I love… you… Misako," he breathed, revelling in her touch. It had been so long… "So much."

Her smile softened.

He smiled tentatively back. "I… I'm so sorry…"

She squeezed his hands. "I know." Then she let go, only to wrap her arms around him.

Slowly, hardly daring to believe that this was real, he wound his arms around her. They stood like that and said nothing more for a long time. There was no need to.

They had each other back.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

My first Ninjago fic—and for that matter, my first solo fic in a long time! You can thank season 4, basically, for making me a fully-obsessed fangirl, both of the show and of a certain villain-turned-sensei. Don't even get me started on the season finale.

Anyway, the show revolves around two relationships: the ninja's relationships with each other, and Lloyd's relationship with his father. Everything else is subplot, and Garmadon's and Misako's marriage is quite possibly the worst offender. They only ever get one real scene together alone, and that was when he was still evil, so here you go. Missing scene.

Bring Back Garmadon 2k16, and Bring More Garmadon/Misako 2k16, plz, thx.


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